DISCUSSION OF U.S.A. DNA MARKERS

[NOTE: For brevity in the article below I have often
abbreviated the term “Main Mangum Line” as “MML” The MML is the supposed direct
descendant lineage of John Mangum the immigrant.

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

We have some real surprises with our DNA results, and some
satisfying confirmations. We now have 38 participants who have generally the
same DNA markers and we believe they all are descendants of John Mangum the
immigrant. We have a 39th who is genetically a Mangum but is not
part of our Mangum DNA group. The DNA matches between these 39 individuals are so
closely matched that they all must have descended from a single immigrant
ancestor or possibly a closely related immigrant family. Of course, we do have
eight other Mangum/Mangrum lines (Dewitt Mangum, James/Jesse Mangum of N.C.,
Greenberry Mangrum of TN, William Mangum’s daughter Edna of SC, Ellison G.
Mangum of N.C., Solomon Mangum of Mississippi, Benjamin Mangum of N.C. and
Harvey Mangum, an African-American from N.C.). They are totally unrelated to
the Main line Mangums, but we find no evidence that they resulted from separate
Mangum immigrants. Although mostly unproven, we believe all these lines
resulted from broken lineages, that is, children who, although not genetically
Mangum, were given the Mangum/Mangrum surname by MML Mangums sometime after 1692
John Mangum’s time. These broken lineages are discussed elsewhere.

Of the MML participants, some things should be noted to aid
your understanding of what the DNA results mean. John Mangum the immigrant
represents the beginning of our DNA research because we don’t know of any
earlier Mangum ancestor. We don’t know where John came from, although England
or Ireland has long been assumed. John’s DNA markers were passed down to him starting
with the first male human to walk the earth, from father to son, down the millennia.
The markers John inherited were very different from the markers of his ancient ancestor.
The markers were slowly altered over the generations and were much different from those of his male line ancestor of even a hundred generations before him. In any
case, his DNA marker values, changed as they may be from his ancient ancestors,
are our beginning point. Mutations from his marker values, in the 300 years we are separated from him, are what allow us to
see individual family lines that descend from him.

John passed his set of Y-Chromosome DNA markers down to all
his sons, and they in turn passed them down to their sons, and so on to the
present day generation. When we determined the values of these DNA markers in a
group of John’s present day descendants (meaning those in the Mangum DNA
Surname Group) we found that they all had identical DNA marker values in MOST but not all markers. When we find that all the MLMs have a particular value in one marker, it
is obvious that the marker value came from John Mangum since he is the only common link
with all the MML. Marker mutations are expected in some MML lines given that
John Mangum lived 300 years ago. Still, in most cases, these mutations can be
ignored when the majority exhibits one particular value. The majority designates the
marker values unchanged from John Mangum. These are the Standard Mangum
Markers, that is, John Mangum’s original markers that he passed down to his descendants. In simpler terms, if we
tested 20 of John Mangum’s descendants, and 18 of them had a value of 22 at
marker X, and the other two participants had marker values of 21, then 22
would be the Mangum Standard Marker value and the 21 would be a mutation from
that Standard Value.

Although DNA markers do mutate, they do so fairly
rarely. These mutations, which occur at an “average” rate of about one mutation
in any one marker in 500 generations, is what allows us to determine
relationships, that is, the time back to the most recent common ancestor
between two individuals. Because the rate of mutation is so low, and because unrelated individuals often have marker value similarities, we test large
numbers of markers, up to 111 as of 2012. The number of mutational differences
between two individuals determines how far back in the past they most likely
had a common ancestor. For example, one or two DNA marker differences in 25
markers between two individuals might mean their common ancestor “probably”
lived a few hundred years in the past, on the average. Three or four, or more,
differences might mean the common ancestor lived thousands of years in the
past.

Since the time of John Mangum, about 300 years ago, the average chance of a single mutation in a group of 25 markers in one of John’s
descendants is 0.6. This is close to what we actually see in our Mangum group.
That is, with 39 participants with 25 markers each, we find 19 mutations. With
37, 67, or even 111 markers tested, we see more mutations, but the Mangums seem
to have very few mutations in those markers between 37 & 67. We don’t have
a good explanation for the low mutation rate in these markers.

The fairly low rate of mutation in DNA markers is the reason
the descendants of John Mangum have nearly identical DNA even after 300 years, at least in the
markers we test, but on the other hand we like to find these mutations. They allow us to
determine descent from sub-lineages within the overall John Mangum line of descent.[1]

By using the techniques described in the tutorial above, we
discovered three significant branch points or sub-lineages within the John
Mangum lineage. They are the Samuel Mangum branch point, the Absolom Mangum
branch point and the Parham branch point. See the discussion under ”III.
Discovered Branches in the Main Mangum Line (MML)” below.

II. THE NEW 111 MARKERS
FROM FAMILY TREE DNA

We only have four participants who have upgraded to 111
markers from 67 markers. All are MML (Main Mangum Line) Mangums. Thirteen
other MMLs and four broken lineage Mangums have tested for 67 markers. We have
been generally disappointed in the markers above 37 through 67 because of the
small number of mutations among those tested. Of the thirteen MMLs tested for
the 37-67 markers, we only found 3 mutations, all at different markers. The small number of mutations did
not allow us to discern any additional branches in the Mangum family as we had
hoped, other than those discovered with the lower markers. It is almost as if
the Mangum genome is unusually stable in these markers. We did discover two
markers where mutations occur in the 68-111 marker group, although with only
four participants, we cannot yet tell which ones are the standard Mangum markers
and which ones are the mutations. Hopefully, as we accumulate more participants
with advanced markers, we will finally begin to see more mutations, and maybe
find marker-mutations for other branches of the Mangum family, as we did in the
first 37 markers for ancestors Absolom Mangum and Samuel Mangum

We have one other Mangum participant, (#73152), who has tested for 67
markers, but he is not a genetic Mangum. He is a descendent of Solomon Mangum
of Mississippi, and his line appears to be genetically related to a Roberts
line. It is interesting, but probably without significance, that we have a
Roberts line who has tested for 67 markers, and that line is almost certainly a
genetic Mangum. So far we believe that this is just an interesting coincidence.

III. DISCOVERED BRANCHES
IN THE MAIN MANGUM LINE (MML)

When we tested several descendants of Samuel Mangum of the
VA to NC migration of 1748, we found that all or almost all of Samuel’s
descendants have a marker value of ‘38’ at CDYa, which is one of the markers
between 25 & 37. Most of the MMLs had a value of ‘37’ at that marker and is
assumed to be the value possessed by John Mangum & passed down to his
descendants. That ’38’ value at CDYa appears to be a mutation that Samuel
Mangum experienced, and which he passed down to all his descendants. Likewise,
Absolom Mangum of the later VA to NC migration around 1780’s passed down a
mutation at CDYb. The John Mangum marker value at CDYb was ‘39’ but the
mutational value was ‘38’.

Actually, determining these two MML branches is a little
more complicated than indicated above. First, CDYa & CDYb are both
extremely rapid mutating markers, and they can mutate to other numbers, or
mutate one way, then mutate back to the original value. Second, CDYa & CDYb
are identical markers which reside at slightly different positions on the Y-Chromosome.[2]

Lab DNA tests do not differentiate between the two. In
simple words, the labs gets two values, without knowing which site on the
chromosome gives which value. By convention, CDYa always gets the lower value.
Adding to the confusion for us Mangums is that both mutations of interest are
the same, that is, a value of ’38’ (37 to 38 or 39 to 38). In most cases, it
was not hard to determine which is which, if only one marker mutated at a time.
A 38-39 mutation pair means that the lower marker 37 mutated to 38, leaving the
39 John Mangum marker intact. This 38-39 pair signifies the Samuel Mangum
marker. A 37-38 mutation pair means that the upper marker 39 mutated to 38,
leaving the 37 John Mangum marker intact. This 37-38 pair signifies the Absolom
Mangum marker. One problem is that we have instances where we have a 38-38 pair. Fortunately, traditional
genealogy allowed us to determine which was the significant mutation.

We have also found a third branch point within the Samuel
Mangum sub-lineage. Two mutations in your editor’s Parham line (via Pleasant
Mangum) seem to define that “sub” branch within the Samuel Mangum branch. See
the discussion under the “PARHAM’ paragraph below

There are several other mutations[3] in John
Mangum’s descendants, in addition to those discussed above.[4] Each
represents an actual branch point in that all their descendants would inherit the mutation. However, since the entire branch point is represented by only one
participant, they have limited relevance to our research at this point. Also, unless we have a more tests from the participant's immediate family, we usually cannot determine if the individual himself originated the mutation, or it originated further up the lineage. If we eventually get more participants
from these ‘isolated’ branch points, they will become as significant as the
other three discussed above.

IV. THE MAIN MANGUM LINE
(MML)

The Main Mangum Line (MML) is the lineage of participants who descend from
John Mangum the immigrant ancestor. We can identify these John Mangum
descendants because they all have Standard Mangum Markers. Some have marker
values that are identical to the Standard Markers, but none have more than 4 or
5 mutations from those values, even up to 111 tested markers. This is fortunate because we can confidently assign all our participants to one of two categories;
“Descendants of John Mangum” (MML) or “Totally Unrelated.” (Broken Lineages).
Had there been a lot more mutations in the John Mangum lineage, we would have
had much more difficulty in deciding if the participant was actually a
descendant of John Mangum, or a descendant of maybe another Mangum immigrant
ancestor, or a descendant of some other genetic line.

We have found several other ‘Mangums’ (and related spellings) in the U.S.
that are not part of the MML, but have found no indication that they descend
from another Mangum immigrant ancestor. In fact, almost all seem to have DNA
from other surnames. We presently believe that these ‘Mangums’ resulted from
male children who were raised as Mangums, but their biological father was not a
Mangum. We call them the ‘Broken Lineages’. On the other hand, we have found a
few individuals who do not have the Mangum surname, but their DNA reveals that
they are indeed Mangum. In that case, one of their ancestors was given a
non-Mangum surname, but their biological father was a Mangum.

A. SAMUEL MANGUM

We now have several participants who are, or probably are, descendants of
Samuel Mangum of the VA to NC migration in 1748 through his sons Joseph &
Howell Mangum. All except three exhibit the Samuel Mangum mutation “38” at
CDYa. Two are from the Arthur Mangum line and this is discussed below. One other is
a descendent of Joseph's son Pleasant Mangrum (#11236) and he has the Standard
Mangum Markers “37/39” combination at CDYa/CDYb. See the two charts below. That
anomaly is also discussed below.

The first chart below emphasizes the marker mutations in each family group.
The second one emphasizes the actual lineage relationships.

Chart Info: The chart above summarizes the DNA results of the descendants
of Samuel Mangum, through seven significant DNA Markers. The standard markers
of the Main Mangum Line (MML), that is, those from John Mangum the immigrant,
are at the top in the amber colored row. The markers in red are mutations from the
MML. The distinctive 'Samuel Mangum marker mutations' are in the CDYa column with
red marker values and yellow background. The mutations in other markers also
have red text but they have light purple background. Note the ‘Parham’
mutations in in markers 459b & 447. The “---“ notation indicates that the
DNA test for that marker has not been performed.

Chart Info: The chart shows the lineages of those DNA
participants who we believe descend from Samuel Mangum of the VA to NC
migration. Beneath the lineages are the results of seven markers (MKR) in which
at least one participant has a mutations from the Standard Markers (STD) The
STD markers are those that came from John Mangum the immigrant. The distinctive
'Samuel Mangum marker mutation is at 'CDYa' with a value of 38 instead of the
STD marker value of 39.

1.
ARTHUR MANGUM

Originally we had two participants who claimed descent from the Arthur
Mangum Sr. line (of the N.C. to VA migration), through Arthur Jr. of NC, Arthur
[III?] of Jackson County, GA, and his son Wiley James Mangum of GA. Your
editor’s lineages showed that this Arthur Mangum of Georgia ( who married
Lavena Brooks) was the son of Howell Mangum Sr. Your editor was quite surprised
when the DNA results showed that neither participant had the Samuel Mangum
mutation, which they should have had if Arthur of GA was son of Howell. This seemed
to confirm the participant’s claim of descent from Arthur Jr. of NC, in spite
of other compelling evidence that this Arthur was son of Howell Sr.

The two participant’s claim of descent from Arthur Mangum Jr. of NC soon
began to unravel. New information from Orange Co., N.C. court records showed
that the Arthur Mangum of Georgia was simply too old to be Arthur III, the son
of Arthur Mangum Jr. of NC. On the other hand, we still had the DNA results
showing a negative for the Samuel Mangum mutation, and which therefore seemed
to indicate that Arthur Mangum of Georgia was not the son of Howell Mangum Sr.
of Franklin County, GA. It was a real puzzle. Just where did this Arthur Mangum
of Jackson County, GA come from?

Then we found a descendent of Middleton B. Mangum. Middleton was another son
of Arthur Mangum of Jackson County, Georgia, and therefore brother to the above
participant’s Wiley James Mangum. Lo & behold, the descendant of Middleton
B. Mangum did have the Samuel Mangum mutation. After a period of puzzlement, we
believe we have finally figured out what happened.

We believe that the Samuel Mangum mutation (marker value 38 for CDYa instead
of the MML value of 37) was indeed passed down from Arthur Mangum of Georgia to
his son Wiley James Mangum. This marker then underwent a second mutation back
to the original ‘Mangum Standard Marker’ value of 37. This is not too
farfetched because marker CDYa is one of the fastest mutating markers known.
Since the first two participants descended from Wiley James Mangum, they both
inherited the ‘re-mutated’ marker (37). Middleton B. Mangum’s original mutated
marker (CDYa=38) remained unchanged in his descendants. Therefore, based on
these re-interpreted DNA results, and compelling traditional genealogical evidence,
Arthur Mangum of Jackson County, Georgia was most probably a son of Howell
Mangum Sr. of North Carolina and Franklin County, GA. This is a rather
complicated series of events, but it is the only known scenario that explains
the facts.

At last contact, the family is still confident that their lineage goes back to an Arthur Mangum of Jackson Co., GA, son of Arthur Mangum Jr. of Orange County, NC. They concede that he may not have been this particular Arthur Mangum, but this is their long held family tradition.

Issue 64 of the Mangum-Mangham-Mangrum Journal has more detailed information
about this line.

2.
HOWELL MANGUM

We initially thought that the “38” mutation at CDYa was originated by Howell
Mangum, son of Samuel Mangum of the VA to NC migration in 1748. Then we began
to see descendants of Joseph Mangum (who we believe is Howell’s brother) with
this same mutation. It then became obvious that this mutation is a marker for
descent from Howell & Joseph's father, Samuel Mangum. We had earlier settled on Howell as
the father of your editor’s Pleasant Mangum, through a process of elimination,
using traditional genealogy. The fact that all of Pleasant’s descendants (so
far tested) have the “38” mutation strengthens that theory. Unfortunately, additional
developments have made that concept somewhat uncertain. We presently do not
know whether Pleasant descends from Howell or his brother Joseph. There is of
course another less likely scenario in which another son of Samuel, presently
unidentified, was Pleasant’s father. This uncertainty was first created when we
found Howell Mangum Sr.’s estate papers in Franklin County, GA and there was no
mention of a son named Pleasant Mangum. Of course, Pleasant Mangum remained in
North Carolina when Howell Mangum and family migrated to Georgia around 1800.
It is possible that this was the reason Pleasant Mangum was ignored in
processing Howell Mangum Sr.’s estate, but it doesn’t seem likely. Joseph
Mangum of Warren County, NC is the only other known son of Samuel Mangum and he
could have been the father of Pleasant. The main connection between Pleasant
and Joseph is that a Joseph Mangum was one of the witnesses when Pleasant
Mangum purchased his land in 1811.

The DNA results from the descendants of Samuel Mangum, another son of Howell Mangum,
show no anomalies as you can see from the above charts.

Your editor's Parham lineage has been shown to be definitely part of the Mangum
family, even with three mutations in the first 37 DNA marker, that is, three differences between
your editor's DNA markers and the Standard Mangum Markers from John Mangum. This is
evident in the charts above. Additional tests with other family members showed
that great grandfather Henry Mangum, who took his mother’s maiden name
“Parham”, passed on one of these mutations in marker 459b to his descendants.
Later, in the line that led to your editor, another mutation occurred in marker
447. There are no others alive to test to see if the
mutation in marker 447 was from your editor, the father or grandfather.[5] The Family Tree DNA
lab calculated that the chance of a common ancestor between your editor and the
(MML) at 300 years is 76.34%, still a high percentage, but much lower than had
been hoped. Now, having discovered where the mutations occurred, and having
shown that the great great grandfather's DNA markers were almost identical to
the Standard Mangum Markers, the chance of your editor's lineage's descent from John
Mangum the immigrant is almost 100%.[6] This is a much more satisfying result.[7]
Incidentally, your editor’s kit number is 6874.

The above reasoning re your editor's descent is further indicated by the results of the
111 markers which show that the markers above 38 are essentially identical to
the Standard Mangum Markers.

In the first 38 markers, there is the two ‘Parham’ mutations, and of course the CDYa
mutation that signifies descent from Samuel Mangum.

4. JOSEPH MANGUM

Three participants descend from Samuel of the VA-NC
migration via Joseph Mangum through his son James Mangrum.[8]
Strangely enough, one of those does not have the Samuel Mangum mutation,
although traditional genealogy has his descent as shown in the above charts. It is possible that
Alfred (Alf), or one of his descendants, had another mutation in this fast
changing marker (CDYa), changing it back from the mutated “38” value to the
standard MML “37” value. Another possible explanation is that there is an error
in the Alfred Mangrum lineage, although presently there is no indication of
this.

There is another anomaly with one of the descendants of Samuel’s son Joseph
Mangum (through James-Plummer Mangrum, Kit 8621). He indeed has a “38” at CDYa,
but he also has a “38” instead of a “39” at CDYb. This mutation at CDYb is
usually considered a marker for descent from Absolom Mangum. We believe the
CDYb mutation occurred later in the lineage in this fast mutating marker. Note
that one of your editor’s relatives, a Pleasant Mangum descendent, had this
identical “double 38” marker at CDYa & CDYb. In this latter case, there is
no doubt about his participant's descent. These two “double” mutations are almost certainly a result of the fast
mutating tendency of this pair of markers. There is no indication that these
two individuals with the ‘double 38’ mutation are more closely related than
traditional genealogy has shown.

5.
ISOM GREEN MANGRUM SR.

We have a DNA results from three descendants of Isom Green Mangrum. All
three have the “38” distinctive marker at CDYa meaning they probably are
descended from Samuel Mangum. One has a “13” mutation at marker #439, a value
that four others in the MML has, including one from the Joseph Mangum-James
Mangrum line. Another descendant of Isom Green Mangrum Sr. has a mutation in
marker 570, which is matched by the same mutation in one of Solomon Mangham’s
descendants. These mutations from the MML are probably not significant in
regard to these lineage relationships, merely examples of the tendency of markers to mutate in random ways.

Isom Green Mangrum was born 1806 and he could not have been born to anyone
in the known descendants of Joseph Mangum, except Joseph Mangum himself, or his
son James Mangrum. Isom certainly could not have been born to William Henry
Mangrum, b. 1855 who also has the ‘13’ mutation, and William is the earliest of
Joseph’s lineage who could have originated the "13" value at marker
439. We believe the "13" value must have originated separately in the
two lineages (William Henry Mangrum and Isom Green Mangrum), and therefore the
DNA results do not infer a close relationship between the two.

We really do not know the origin of Isom Green Mangrum. But, we cannot deny
that Isom has the Samuel Mangum mutation at CDYa, although a separate mutation
could certainly have happened which accidentally caused a match with the Samuel
Mangum line. Research into the origins of Isom Green Mangum should at least
consider the possibility that he descended from Samuel Mangum.

In the 1850 Census of Franklin Co., AR, Isom Green Mangrum states he was
born in NC (c1806). His eldest child at home in 1850 (19 yrs) was born MS. In
the 1880 census, Isom Jr. (1849) stated that his father was born in KY and his
mother in TN. In the 1900 census, he said his father was born in TN and his
mother in MS. In 1910, he stated that both his parents were born in MS. Another
source suggests that Isom Sr. (1806) was possibly from SC.

In the 1830 Census of Monroe County, MS, there is an “Isham J. Mangrum” of
Isom’s correct age listed. There is also a land patent for an “Isham G.
Mangrum” in Monroe County, MS, dated 1841.

Some family’s researchers believe that a supposed mention of a G.L. or G.I.
Mangrum in the Ft. Smith, AR, National Cemetery is referring to Isom Green
Mangrum. It is reported that there is a stone for a G.L. or G.I. Mangrum who
died 25 June 1865...inscription reads, "Pvt. Com. C, 4 AR Calv." in
the Union section, Section 5, row 10, #17, grave # 2567. Additional information
for the theory (which has not been verified) is that death records for Levissa
supposedly list her father as "G. L." Mangrum. This theory is the
basis for the listed death date for Isom Green Mangrum. A GL/GI
Mangrum/Mangum could not be found on the Ft. Smith National Cemetery
transcription website, which is not conclusive. Family researchers do feel this
theory is rather unsubstantiated, at least insofar as it has been presented.

The frequency of use of the name combination “Isom/Isham Green” within this
branch of the family has caused researchers to wonder about its significance
and if, perhaps, it might be a clue to the origin of this particular family
branch. Note that as a surname, “Isom” is a variant of the English “Isham.”

It was noticed that Isom Green Mangrum (1849) and an Isom Green Arter
(1842) had married Dill sisters. Further search showed that Isom Green Arter’s
mother was named Elizabeth Mangrum (unknown connection). Elizabeth
married (1)Alexander Oliver and (2) William Arter, son of John
Arter. Both marriages probably took place in TN.

Isom Green Mangrum (b.1806 NC)
Elizabeth Mangrum (b.1814 NC)

Named a child
“Elizabeth”
Named a child “Isom Green”

Were Isom Green Mangrum (1806) and Elizabeth siblings or cousins? Is there a
tie-in with this particular Elizabeth? Were these family names from even
earlier generations? What is the origin of the name “Isham/Isom Green”? A quick
Google search shows that it was not uncommon or (apparently) confined to one
family, though no indication of origin was found.

While reading Thomas Jefferson: A Strange Case of Mistaken Identity
by Alf J. Mapp, Jr., a comment on page 12 was noticed. "Jane Jefferson
brought her son a notable heritage through her great grandmother Mary Isham
as well as through the Randolphs. This line went back through Sir Henry de Greene,
Lord Chief Justice of England in the fourteenth century ..." This is not
to suggest that Isom Green Mangrum is related to this family. It was just
interesting to note the two names in close proximity.

In a Heritage Quest “book search” for “Isham Green,” Early
settlers of Alabama by James Edmonds Saunders, p. 475 mentions a
Mary Isham Green. It also mentions a man named James Pleasants (think of
Pleasant Mangrum), and the following statement: “The name Isham in the
families of Epes, Oliver, Thompson, Wells, Watkins, is presumed to have
descended from Henry Isham, of Henrico (VA), one of its earliest settlers.”

Another hit in the Heritage Quest search was in Tennessee
Old and New: 1796-1946, p. 213 in a section entitled “The life and
character of Isham G. Harris.” It refers to Isham Green Harris (1818 TN),
youngest son of Isham and Lucy Harris who were “North Carolinians and of
Revolutionary stock.” So here is an “Isham Green” of NC descent.

If Elizabeth is related to Isom (1806), it appears that at least some of the
family of Isom Mangrum possibly went from NC to TN. Isom (1806) and family went
(from TN?) to MS (bef. 1830) and then to AR (by 1849).

William Arter (1812 TN) married Elizabeth Mangrum 1838 TN. Moved to AR 1844.
We don’t know if there is any connection with other Mangrums that moved to AR?

B. ABSOLOM MANGUM

As discussed above and in the “CDYa/CDYb Problem” link, all three of Absolom
Mangum’s descendents have a “38” mutation at CDYb. One of those has a further
mutation at CDYa(37 changed to 36), but this is just another random mutation
that probably happened later in this particular line from Absolom Mangum.

One of the descendants of Absolom Mangum (Kit #18989) has a multiple marker
mutation at marker #385b (change of 3)[9] plus another single
mutation at marker #CDYb for a total of 4 mutations. None of the other Main
Mangum Line (MML) Group had as many mismatches with the Standard Mangum
Markers. Normally this large number of mutations would have caused some doubt
that this individual descended from John Mangum the immigrant. Surprisingly,
the calculations by the lab show that there is an 89.29% chance of a common
ancestor with the Main Mangum Lineage at 300 years or less in the past. We can
safely say that even with the mutations considered it is quite certain that
this individual is part of the MML. The high confidence of a common ancestor
with the MML in spite of the 4 mutations must be because of the nature of the
mutations. The CDYb marker is an unusually fast mutating marker and this fact
is probably taken into account in the lab’s calculations. The three marker
mutation at marker #385b is probably the result of a single mutation that
changed the value of the marker by three, and it is apparent that the lab
considered it as a single mutation in their calculations.[10][11] All the other markers for this
individual match the Standard Mangum Markers.

C. HENRY MANGUM

We have two participants from the Henry Mangum family of Virginia and
Tennessee. Kit #173868 is a descendant of Henry Mangum Sr’s son, Samuel Mangrum
who married Rebecca Cotton. They are parents of Zachariah Mangrum, and
grandparents of Perry A. Mangrum, a lineage that has previously been obscure
and subject to much speculation. Kit #173948 is a descendant of Henry through
his son Henry Mangrum Jr. who married Sarah Glover. Except for a few odd
mutations, the test results for these two individuals are essentially identical
to the Standard Mangum Markers. Neither has the Absolom (CDYb=38) or Samuel
Mangum (CDYa=38) DNA markers, but interestingly enough Kit #173868 has a
(CDYb=40), where the standard value is “39”. CDYa & CDYb are very fast
mutating markers, and it is most likely that the “40” mutation occurred at or
after the time of Henry’s son Samuel Mangrum. Some earlier theories had Henry
Mangum of early Virginia as a lineage separate from John Mangum, our assumed
immigrant ancestor. These DNA tests leave no doubt that Henry and John Mangum
were very closely related, most likely father & son, or somewhat less
likely grandfather and grandson.

D. JACOB MANGUM

We seem to have partially settled the controversy of whether or not Jacob
Mangum of N.C. & S.C. was a descendent of John Mangum. DNA analysis from
two of his descendants shows that he was either a descendent of John, or a
descendent of a very close relative of John.[12] We
have not solved the question of whether or not he was from Ireland, but if he
was from Ireland, then this would be strong evidence that the family of John
Mangum the immigrant was from Ireland also. Because of the lack of DNA matches
between our MML and the English surnames, we have attempted to
recruit Irish DNA participants. We presently have two Irish participants
(Mangan), and neither are closely related to the MML or to each other. The
Mangum-Mangham-Mangrum Journal, issue 64, page 48 has more details about the
problems in doing research with Irish surnames.

The other member of the line, participant #8869, is a descendent of William
Mangum b. 1811, son of the Patriot. He has upgraded his DNA markers to
67. In the first 37 markers he has the above mentioned mutation at marker 460.
Some random mutations in the markers of any lineage are expected over the
centuries, and we believe this mutation has no real significance regarding this
participant’s relationship to the MML. The new markers for this participant,
38-67, are all identical to the Standard Mangum Markers.

F. SOLOMON MANGHAM OF NC & GA

The four descendants of Solomon Mangham have a few mismatches from the “Standard”
Mangum markers at the 37 marker level. The mismatches are all at different
markers and only one participant has more than a single mismatch. We believe
the mutations occurred after the time of John Mangum and do not affect the
relationship of this line to the MML, or to each other. This is entirely
consistent with the theory that Solomon Mangham was a son of William Mangum Sr.
of the VA to NC migration.

G. ROBERT S. MANGUM

Again, it is obvious that this line is part of the MML, and the three
participant's markers are identical to the “Standard” Mangum DNA markers.
Robert seems to be related to Josiah Mangum, b. c1782 in Granville Co., N.C.
Josiah was probably son of Joseph Mangum Sr. of Granville Co., N.C., who is a
supposed son of William Mangum Sr. of the VA to N.C. migration of 1748. Note
that there were two Joseph Mangums in the general area in this time period. One
Joseph resided in Bute/Warren Counties, N.C. and was apparently the son of
Samuel Mangum of the VA to NC migration. The other Joseph resided in Granville
County and was son of William Mangum Sr.

We don’t yet know how Robert relates to the Granville County, NC Josiah
Mangum line. He does not have the Samuel Mangum mutation and therefore is probably not
related to Joseph Mangum of Warren County, NC.

H. RICHARD B. MANGUM

Previously, participant #25652’s earliest ancestor was listed as Chester (or
Chesley) J. Mangrum, b c1868 AR. Later a deceased family researcher’s records
showed that Chester’s father was Richard B. Mangrum, but it is unknown how that
researcher came about this information. Her records show Richard Barler
Mangrum, born about 1829, Mulberry, Crawford County, Arkansas (western part of
the state) near Fort Smith. Richard married Frances
Jane Howard on 11 July 1865 in White County, TN and she
was born abt 1845 and died after 1902. Their son Chester James Mangrum was born
12 Oct. 1868 and died 11 Sept. 1900, all in Mulberry, Crawford County, AR.

Richard & Frances are the apparent ancestors of our DNA participant. The
family has looked for about 10 years without finding very much about Richard,
nor anything about his origin. Frances and son Chester were found in the home
of John Becket in the 1870 Franklin County, AR census.
Richard must have died, or at least was absent from the family then. This
Mangrum family has no known relationship with the Beckets.

We have 37 marker results from this participant, and they are an exact match
with the Standard Mangum Markers. This proves that Richard Mangrum was part of
the Main Mangum Line (MML). The family believes Richard is a descendent of the
Tennessee Mangrums, but there were several lines of
Mangums/Mangrums in Tennessee at the time. One of those descended from Joseph
Mangum, probable son of the Samuel Mangum of the 1748 VA to NC migration. But,
because of DNA results we can probably eliminate Richard as a descendent of
Samuel Mangum via his son Joseph Mangum.

The family of Henry Mangum Jr. of VA came to Maury County, Tennessee in the
early 1800’s with some of the family later settling in Craighead County, AR. (See
the Isham Mangrum article in the Journal issue 59a.) Because Richard’s
family was also in Arkansas, it raises the question of a relationship between
the two families. Richard’s descent from Henry Mangum’s family is possible but
we have not identified a Richard in any of the records of the Tennessee or
Arkansas branches of Henry’s family. The fact that both Richard’s family and
some of Henry’s descendants were in Arkansas may be coincidental. Craighead
County, home of Henry’s descendants, is on the other side of the state from
Crawford County, home of Richard’s family. However, we do not have accurate and
complete lineages of all of Henry’s descendants, so the question remains open.

I. WILEY P. MANGUM

This participant (#14496) is a descendent of Wiley P. Mangum (1795-1882) and
his wife Mary McSwain. Wiley was born in N.C. but lived most of his life in
Tennessee. He was in Hickman Co. in 1820. He may have died in Hardin County,
TN. The records regarding Wiley’s origin have been difficult to decipher. Until
just recently, the family researcher believed those records showed that Wiley
P. Mangum was descended from Absolom Mangum and he was therefore placed under
the Absolom heading. Because of more recent finding, the researcher now
believes that he was the son of John Mangum, Revolutionary War Patriot, who was
born 1763. In fact, there is a family tradition that says just that.
Unfortunately, there is, as yet, no documented proof of this tradition. The family
researcher believes that Wiley’ mother was Mary Murdock, daughter of Hamilton
Murdock. According to the researcher, there is extensive circumstantial
evidence that John & Mary (Murdock) Mangum were parents of Wiley P. Mangum.
Another family researcher believes that Wiley P. Mangum was actually Wiley
Potter Mangum, son of Pleasant Mangum of Granville Co., N.C. This Wiley Potter
Mangum was the a brother of your editor’s ancestor (Archibald Mangum), and
family tradition states that Wiley Potter Mangum moved to Tennessee and was
never heard from again. However, records in Granville County, N.C. seem to show
that Wiley Potter Mangum remained in Granville County until he was in his 70’s.
DNA evidence also does not support the theory that this participant’s Wiley P.
Mangum (as Wiley Potter Mangum) was a son of Pleasant Mangum. Because Pleasant
Mangum is a grandson of Samuel Mangum of the VA to NC migration, all of
Pleasant’s descendants so far tested have the distinctive DNA marker mutation
at CDYa. Wiley P. Mangum’s descendent (participant # 14496) did not have this
distinctive marker. Hopefully, additional research will resolve this difficult
lineage.

J. WILLIAM MANGUM OF NC

This William Mangum was born February 1819 in Granville Co., NC. He married
there to Sarah Cannon/Kennon on 17 January 1837. They later moved to Caswell
County, NC where both died and are buried. William died 4 May 1858. His DNA,
via his descendent in our Mangum DNA Group (Kit 102526), is an exact match in
37 markers with the Standard Mangum Markers.

There are quite a few Mangum
families in Granville County 1820-1840 according to the census of those years. Many of
them have age groups corresponding to the age of William, but at present there
is no known way to choose between them.

We find William in Caswell County,
NC in 1850, age 31 with his wife Sallie age 34. She was born in Caswell, he in
Granville. Their children, Martha J. (12), Eliza A. (10), Margaret (6) &
James C. (3) were born in Granville County while their last Emmeline (2/12) was
born in Caswell County. We surmise that the move to Caswell was made in 1849 or
1850. We do find a William Mangum in Granville County in the 1840 census which
may be this William. He and a female, presumably his wife, were age 20-30, and
they had one daughter under 5. The family was in Cedar Oaks (or Cadaso Osark as
indexed by Ancestry.com).

K. WILLIAM L. MANGUM OF KNOXVILLE, TN

This
participant originally tested for 40 markers at Ancestry.com. Unfortunately Ancestry.com’s
DNA test does not include the markers CDYa & CDYb, which are the Samuel
& Absolom mutated markers. After testing with FTDNA (Kit #186162) this
participant found that he has the Absolom Mangum Marker mutation at CDYb.

William L. Mangum was born about
1833, possibly in South Carolina. He married Ada Byrd (Bird) on 16 Dec. 1891.
The last known location of William was in Knoxville, Tennessee 1891-1894. His
origin is presently obscure, but based on his DNA markers, the family of
Absolom Mangum is a prime candidate. It should also be noted that CDYa &
CDYb markers are fast mutating markers, so this assigning of a descent from
Absolom Mangum, although very likely, is not 100% conclusive.

Wm L. Mangum’s DNA did have some other mutations from the Standard Mangum
Markers, which you should remember are the markers we assume that John Mangum
the immigrant handed down to all his descendants. There is a value of 18 at
marker 458 where the Standard Marker value is 17. This mutation is shared with
only one other participant; Kit Number 11325 who is a descendent of Solomon
Mangham of N.C. & Georgia. We presently have no reason to believe that
William L. Mangum of Knoxville, TN was closely related to Solomon Mangham of
GA, other than this DNA mutation match. Most likely, this match was merely
because a random mutation accidentally matched that of another descendant line
from John Mangum.

This participant also had a mutation in marker 464c. (value 17 versus the
standard 16). No other Main Mangum Line participant has this mutation so the
mutation does not really tell us anything new. A few random mutations are
expected in some lineages during the 300 years since the time of John Mangum.

L. WILEY ROBERTS

A descendant of Wiley Roberts, born 1800 in North Carolina, joined the
Roberts DNA group at Ancestry.com. When their results came back they discovered
that they did not match the Roberts lineages but they did match very closely
our Mangums. At your editor’s urging, the Roberts participant from Ancestry.com
was persuaded to join our Mangum group at FamilyTreeDNA and re-test their DNA.
Re-testing was needed because Ancestry.com does not test for CDYa & CDYb,
the only two markers we have so far found where mutations signify branches in
the John Mangum lineage. Those branches are the Absolom Mangum and Samuel
Mangum lines. The FTDNA tests revealed that this participant (Kit #169738) with
the Roberts surname does not have either mutation, so he is not descended from
Samuel or Absolom Mangum. The family has not yet identified a possible time and
family in which the lineage break (from Mangum to Roberts) might have occurred.
They do know that Wiley Roberts died c1859 in Salina Co., IL. Family tradition
says that 4 brothers from TN came to Salina County c1812-1816. Wiley Roberts
had one child named Josiah Mangrum Roberts, which seems to be
significant, but it has not yet led to a solution to the origin of the lineage
break from Mangum to Roberts.

M. SAMUEL ROBERTSON

We have DNA data from a Robertson (Kit # 16153) who is a perfect 67 marker
match with the Standard Mangum Markers (MML). He is also a member of the
Donnachaidh surname group (Scottish) and the results from another Robertson
from this Scottish group is a perfect 37 marker match with the MML. There is a
high confidence that the Mangums and this line of Robertsons had a common male
ancestor in the last 300 years.[14] Mr. Robertson has
upgraded his markers to the new FamilyTreeDNA 111 marker group, along with
three other MML Mangums. All four are a perfect match except in two markers
above the original 67. With only these four participants, we cannot yet say
what values of these two markers are the Standard Mangum Markers and which are
the mutations. Hopefully we will soon get more participants to resolve the
marker problem

The most likely scenario is that in Virginia, or maybe in N.C. soon after
the 1748 Mangum migration, a male genetic Mangum child was raised with the
Robertson surname. Other less likely scenarios are possible, including the
possibility that John Mangum’s ancestors were Robertson. However, the 67
perfect match between the standard Mangums markers and Robertsons makes that
more distant (pre-John Mangum) lineage break from Robertson to Mangum unlikely,
although just barely possible. The Robertson line that matches our Mangums does
not seem to be related to the other lines of Robertsons, so this is further
evidence that these Robertsons descended from the Mangums rather than vice
versa.

It has been difficult to determine just when the Robertsons and Mangums were
in close contact, but pre-1800 to early 1800 Virginia seems to be the most
likely area and time.

Mr. Robertson has been on the forefront of additional DNA testing, followed closely
by your editor and Ron Mangum from Howell Mangum Sr.’s line (Kit # 6879), to
determine the ancient ancestors of the Mangums. Deep Clade tests have been
done, and we are awaiting results from “Walk Through The Y” (WTY) tests by Ron
Mangum, and the National Geographic’s Genographic Project by Mr. Robertson.
Deep Clade tests looks at Y-chromosome SNPs to determine the individual’s place
on the human genetic tree. Since all MML Mangums have the same direct male
lineage from John Mangum, this Deep Clade test applies to all MML descendants.
The WTY tests 1,000s of SNPs on the Y-chromosome, looking for mutations, which
might become published and established mutations showing branches in the human
genetic tree. The Genographic Project also tests for 1,000s of SNPs on the
Y-chromosome, but also looks at mtDNA (maternal mitochondrial DNA) and
autosomal DNA across all the chromosomes. The latter two relate to the
participants lineages only, and do not provide any Mangum lineage information.

Our standard DNA markers (STRs) look at repeating molecular groups at
particular sites on the Y-chromosome helix. They are not genes but a type of genetic stutter that can become larger or smaller as mutations accumulate. A count of the number of groups at each point (marker) determines the marker value. The number of groups can
easily change (mutate), up or down, making them ideal for determining
genealogical relationships within the last 600 years.

SNPs, on the other hand,
are changes in single letters on the Y-chromosome DNA helix and relate to deep
ancestry, because they are so rare. Each SNP is assumed to have occurred only
once in all of human history. Each of the established SNPs represents a branch
in the human family tree (Haplogroup), at some world location and generation
after the Y-chromosome Adam (so called because he represents the single human
who is the male ancestor of the entire human race). We presently have delved so
far into the ‘Deep Clade” testing that we believe we have traced the
origin of the Mangums from the Y-chromosome Adam to a group that was concentrated (although not exclusively) in Ireland less than 1,000 years ago. More details are given in
Issue 64 of the Mangum-Mangham-Mangrum Journal.

[E-mail your editor for a link
to a free download of Journal 64 - "parhamgen@comcast.net".]

[1] We don’t want to find several
mutations in any one MML lineage. At best, it requires some finessing to explain
why it doesn’t change the relationship to John Mangum the immigrant. At worse,
it might infer a broken lineage.

[2] A marker is a place on the
Y-chromosome that has a number of duplicating chemical groups called Short Tandem Repeats (STRs). The count of the
number of groups in one place (a marker) on the Y-chromosome determine the value of the marker. For example, in the Mangum
participants, marker 393 has 13 groups, so its marker value is 13. The chemical
groups are usually different for each markers. However, there might be two or
more places on the chromosome which have identical chemical groups but they can
have different numbers of groups. This is the case with CDYa & CDYb. They
have identical chemical groups, but they reside at two slightly different places on
the Y-chromosome.

[3] It may be correct to call these
mutations, but a better term may be changes. Mutations usually have negative or
positive connotations, usually negative. These mutations are neutral since they
occur at places on the “Y” chromosome which have no bodily function. This
neutral effect is the reason these sites on the DNA “Y” chromosome are useful
in tracking times to the common ancestor. By being neutral, that is, by not
proving any advantage or disadvantage to the inheritor of the mutation, it is
only the average mutation rate per generation that determines how often the
mutation occurs. By considering the marker differences between two individuals,
we can estimate the number of generations that have passed since the time of
their common ancestors. If the mutation was beneficial then those individuals
carrying the mutation would have a survival advantage over those without the
mutation and over several generations there would be proportionally more
individuals with the mutation, skewing the average mutation rate on which we
base our calculations. The effect would be opposite if the mutation was
negative.

[4] We have 12 of a total of 39 that have
exact matches in all of the first 37 markers plus 10 of 13 that have exact matches in the
markers between 38 & 67. These 'exact matched' markers are the markers we
assume were passed down from John Mangum the immigrant to all his descendants.
We call them the “Standard Mangum Markers”. The rest of the MML had one or more
mutations from those 37/67 markers over the 300+ years since John lived.

[5] My son and I are the only living male
descendants of my grandfather John Parham, so we will probably never know which
of us originated the mutation.

[6] If my great-great grandfather was a
John Mangum descendent, then I most certainly was also.

[7] The story of our research re the two
“Parham” markers is documented in the Family Tree DNA Newsletter “Facts &
Genes” published 12 Oct. 2003 [Volume 2, Issue 9]. You can see a copy of this
newsletter by going to www.familytreedna.com, accessing the “Monthly
Newsletter” link, then the 12 Oct. 2003 issue.

[8] One of these descendants of Joseph
Mangum is a Mangham whose ancestor was born a Mangrum, although the lineage is
presently somewhat tenuous.

[9] The 3 mutations on marker #385b
correspond with the same mutation on our second English Manningham participant.
Unfortunately, additional markers make it quite clear that the Absolom Mangum
participant and the English Manningham participant are unrelated in any
genealogical significant time frame.

[10] The chances that, out of four
mutations in a 37 marker set, three different mutations would occur in a single
marker are vanishingly small. It is much more likely that a single mutation
caused the 3 value marker change on the single marker.

[11] This individual really had only two
markers that had mismatches, although one marker mismatch was different by
three units, that is, from "14" to "11", for a total of
"four" mutations. We compared these results with another DNA
participant who also had two mismatches, but both of his were single unit
mismatches, making his total mutations "two". The Lab calculates that
both individuals have the same relationship with the MML, that is, the same
percentage chance & time to the most recent common ancestor with the MM

[12] He was an exact 37 for 37 marker
match with the Standard Mangum Markers.

[14] Family Tree DNA shows that the
likelihood of a common ancestor between the Robertsons and the Mangums within
the past 300 years is almost 100%, based on the perfect 37/37 marker match. At
200 years it is still over 97%.